To add a geometric environment to your scene

1. Choose Render > Multi-lister .
2. Double click the Environment icon to open the editor.
3. In the Background section, click the Map button next to the Color field to open the Texture editor.
   
4. In the editor, choose Geometric in the Environment section. This opens the Geometric Environment window.
   
5. Click the Map button next to the Source Texture field to open the Texture editor.
6. Choose the file texture in the Surface section.
   
7. In the File texture editor, click the Browse button next to the Image field. Browse to the environment image you want to use as your background. This should be a large panoramic image in tiff, jpg, gif, bmp, or png format.
8. Choose WindowDisplay > Hardware Shade ❒, turn on the Show Background option and click Shade On.
   

   The geometric background appears. When you rotate and pan the view, the environment texture file moves with the model.

Adjusting the shape, position, and size of the geometric environment texture

The background image is actually mapped to either a Dome or a Cylinder (depending on the Geometry Type chosen in the Geometric environment window) that surrounds your model, but this geometry cannot be directly manipulated or rendered.

You can also use the Rotate, Scale, and Height sliders in the Geometric Environment window, to respectively rotate the environment geometry texture around the Up (vertical) axis, scale it proportionally, or move it to a certain height above or below ground level (Z = 0). Clicking the Auto button automatically sets the base of the environment geometry to the bottom of the model's bounding box.

The geometric texture has an associated texture placement node that also lets you move, scale and rotate the environment (using the usual Transform tools) to adjust it around your model.

The source texture may be manipulated in the same way as any other texture.

Saving the geometric environment texture

The geometric environment texture is saved to the wire file just as any other texture. To embed the source texture image into the wire file (instead of just referencing it), turn on Embed Image References in the Save As option window.

Current limitations

• Some texture mappings (for Source Texture) may not be supported.
• The Geometric environment texture can only be mapped to the background color of the Environment shader.
• The source texture file cannot be an HDR image.

New geometric environments in Shader Library

In the Visualize Control Panel you can find four new environments which contain geometric textures: GeoDesertDawn, GeoDocks, GeoGypsumCrater, and GeoNightPlaza.

To use a preset geometric environment:

1. Open the Control Panel and choose Visualize from the top pull-down menu.
2. Double-click one of the geometric environments in the Shader Library

   The geometric texture appears in the Resident Shaders section of the Control Panel.

3. Double-click the Hardware Shade tool in the Control Panel or choose WindowDisplay > Hardware Shade ❒ in the menu.
4. In the option window, turn on Show Background and click the Shade On button.

   The geometric background appears around your model.